White, Smith announce Negro League Gold Glove winners

The first of what promises to be an amazing array of gala events surrounding the July 10 All-Star Game at Kauffman Stadium took place Thursday morning at the Negro Leagues Museum, located at 18th and Vine in downtown Kansas City, Mo.

Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith, a 13-time Gold Glove winner, and Frank White, the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame second baseman who won eight Gold Gloves, announced the winners of the first Negro Leagues Gold Glove team.

“Today is a history-making event,” Negro Leagues spokesman Bob Kendrick told a standing-room-only crowd at the museum’s Field of Legends display. “We took a great deal of time and dedication to select the Negro Leagues Gold Glove team – a team with just nine players. We could have had nine teams with nine players and still not recognized all the deserving nominees.”

A panel that included Negro Leagues historians and former Negro Leagues star and Hall of Famer Monte Irvin selected the elite group that was announced by White and Smith, who each draw lengthy standing ovations when they were introduced.

Also on hand was Mike Thompson, the senior vice president of marketing for Rawlings, the sporting goods company that has produced the iconic trophies that signify fielding excellence since 1957.

“This is Rawlings 125th anniversary,” Thompson said, “and we have established a timeline of great moments in Rawlings history. This event will become a part of that timeline.”

The winners were Walter “Buck” Leonard, first base; Newt Allen, second base; Willie Wells, shortstop; Ray Dandridge, third base; James “Cool Papa” Bell, Martin Dihigo and Oscar Charleston, outfield; Raleigh “Biz” Mackey, catcher; and Leon Day, pitcher.

Buck O’Neil, the longtime Kansas City resident and baseball ambassador who has a statue outside the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., was also recognized with an honorary Gold Glove.

“It took me about 15 seconds to say I would love to be a part of this when I got the call from Bob (Kendrick),” said Smith, long considered the greatest defensive shortstop in the history of the major leagues. “When I heard about the Gold Gloves for the Negro Leagues players and learned that Frank was going to be a part of this, I couldn’t wait to say yes.”

White, who grew up in downtown Kansas City and lived just three blocks from Negro Leagues and Hall of Fame pitching legend Satchel Paige, said Thursday’s ceremony and the museum both hold a special place in his heart.

“I was on one of the first committees that talked about having a museum to honor the players from the Negro League,” said White, the premier second baseman of his era. “At first, they didn’t have any money, so the members of the committee paid the rent on a revolving basis.

“Now, we have this museum. I used to watch the Negro League games at Municipal Stadium (which was located at 22nd and Brooklyn in Kansas City, Mo.) and remember a first baseman named ‘Nature Boy’ Kirby. He played first base in a straw skirt and would sit down on a stool during the game.

“Some of the teams would hold infield practice without a ball – they’d go through all the routines, turning double plays and fielding ground balls – but it was minus the ball. They were showmen, but they were also great athletes.”

Smith, who earned the nickname “The Wizard of Oz” for his fielding prowess, said an elderly Negro Leagues player paid him his greatest compliment.

“The greatest compliment anyone ever bestowed on me,” Smith said, “came from a former Negro Leagus player who told me, ‘You could have played with us.’”

The Gold Gloves, which are identical to those won by present-day players, will be on display in the museum’s Field of Legends.